British wine sector celebrates scrapping of “arduous and unnecessary” wine import paperwork

26 Jul 2021 --- UK ministers have pledged to cut red tape for British wine importers, saving local consumers up to £130 million (US$178.8 million) a year, according to government-published estimates. 

The change would scrap the requirement of wine-specific paperwork – time-consuming and costly VI-1 certificates – on all imports of wine into Great Britain.

The move aims to remove a “significant burden” on the UK’s wine trade, which is the second largest in the world in value terms. Industry analysis suggests that VI-1 certificates add £0.10 (US$0.14) to every bottle of imported wine.

FoodIngredientsFirst speaks to Miles Beale, chief executive of Britain’s Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) on what is hailed as a “significant post-Brexit victory.”

“One of the main concerns has been the implementation of VI-1s and confusion over what paperwork was needed to import goods,” he remarks.

“Since leaving the EU, some importers have been experiencing problems with the movement of goods following a shortage of lorry drivers with many companies seeing the situation going from bad to worse with severe disruptions to supply chains in recent weeks.”

Expediting trade amid Brexit
Shortly after Brexit, the WSTA had warned that the introduction of the new forms and laboratory test demands in the UK would bring wine imports from the EU to a standstill, costing the industry approximately £70 million (US$96.2 million). 

The new Parliamentary decision to scrap all wine import certificates, not just those for EU wine, is expected to generate savings significantly greater than what would have been lost.

Notably, 99 percent of wine consumed in the UK is imported, with 55 percent of that coming from the EU.

Notably, 99 percent of wine consumed in the UK is imported, with 55 percent of that coming from the EU, according to WSTA statistics.

The UK wine industry contributes around £11 billion (US$15.1 billion) every year in economic activity and employs 130,000 people across its supply chains.

“Government has shown it is in tune with business by taking this once in a lifetime opportunity,” comments James Miles, co-founder, chairman and managing director at global wine-trading Liv-ex.

“By removing these unnecessary and costly non-tariff barriers to trade it has re-set our trading arrangements with the rest of the world in a way that will enhance the UK’s position in the global wine trade.”

Laboratory analysis no longer required
If the plans to introduce VI-1s to wine coming in from the EU had come into play, imports would have required laboratory analysis.

The WSTA estimates that this process would have cost about £330 per shipment and could have put off smaller producers from sending their wines to the UK, reducing consumer choice.

“This is a truly historic moment for the UK’s world-leading wine trade,” Beale says.

“We have spent more than two years campaigning relentlessly to avoid the introduction of new import certificates for EU wine imports on the one hand and scrapping the unnecessary and costly VI-1 wine paperwork for on-EU wine imports on the other.”

“Pingdemic” adds further strain
The UK’s pubs, bars and restaurants and their wine and spirit suppliers have further suffered from staffing problems following the self-isolation prompted by a government-issued track-and-trace app, Beale stresses.

“The hospitality industry has suffered huge losses since the beginning of the pandemic and now businesses face further difficulties as they struggle to find staff to keep the sector ticking over,” he underscores.

“The hospitality sector has received business loans and staff have been receiving furlough payments when businesses were closed, however not all of this support was extended to the businesses who supply the hospitality sector which has been incredibly hard on some businesses.”

Some food industry supply chain workers will now be exempt from self-isolation rules that have led to the so-called “pingdemic” that has been accelerating across the UK. Britain this week. 

In the wake of growing concerns about empty supermarket shelves, the British UK government has recently introduced a new daily testing scheme that will allow many food workers to continue working, regardless of vaccination status.

By Benjamin Ferrer